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Sierra Club Bulletin 



Trail Building 



At a late meeting of the Southern Section committee, it was decided to 

 use all money collected from the five-cent fees on the local trips for 

 trail building and sign posting exclusively. The Southern Section has 

 lately expended one hundred dollars with a like sum from the Govern- 

 ment in building a trail near Mount Islip. They are also expending fifty 

 dollars with an equal sum from the Government in the much needed 

 sign-posting of the San Jacinto Mountains. They are also doing some 

 trail work at Iron Mountain. 



Invasion of Our National Parks 



Sheep owners want to graze sheep in national parks. This would despoil 

 the parks without greatly increasing the supply of wool and mutton 



What are our national parks for — to be enjoyed by people or to be de- 

 spoiled by cattle and sheep ? 



"The invasion of the enemy," is an expression that need not be lim- 

 ited to war usage. It exactly fits a condition of internal affairs here in 

 the United States that is far removed from battlefields and warring men. 

 The territories being invaded are the national parks. If the invasion 

 continues these regions which belong to all the American people will be 

 monopolized by a few individuals. 



Certain interests, individual and collective, are constantly endeavoring 

 to use these parks for their own commercial benefit. The friends of the 

 people's playgrounds have again and again thwarted efforts that were 

 being made to use these wonderlands for stock pasture. Now there are 

 people who are taking advantage of the present need for increased food 

 production, to secure permission to graze cattle and sheep in our na- 

 tional parks. Last summer certain stock men seized the opportunity 

 offered by the urgent national need of food and undertook to get the 

 Federal Government to permit grazing in parks. In California the 

 friends of parks acted quickly and saved most of Yosemite. The stock 

 men did succeed in getting possession of two comparatively small areas. 

 Increased efforts are being made to pasture the parks in 1918. 



We all know that more mutton and more wool are needed, and that 

 the sheep industry should be increased. Grazing grounds are essential, 

 but there is ample opportunity for grazing outside of the national parks. 



The Department of Agriculture says, "There remain practically no 

 lands in the public domain (unreserved public lands) that are fit for any 

 other use than for the grazing of livestock. They should therefore be 

 used for that purpose." Does it seem reasonable to graze sheep in the 

 national parks when there is government land not in use that is fitted 

 for that purpose? 



Then there are the national forests, covering an area of approximately 

 one hundred and seventy-five million acres. Of this about five-eighths 



